CLG outlast, out-macro, outplay FlyQuest in longest game of 2022 LCS season

While teams like Evil Geniuses and 100 Thieves duke it out for the top seeds in this year’s LCS Championship, other teams throughout the league are making late-season pushes toward the playoffs. CLG and FlyQuest are two teams in particular who stand directly in the middle of the North American table. Today, they faced off against one another in a game with immense playoff implications.

In the end, it was CLG who came out on top, winning a stunningly close game in just over 51 minutes. The contest was the longest game of the LCS season, passing the mark set by these two exact teams during the first week of the Spring Split. 

CLG came into today’s game on a four-game winning streak, their longest streak since the 2019 season. FlyQuest entered their faceoff with CLG on an opposite trajectory, losing three in a row before today’s game.

And throughout the majority of the early game, it appeared as though FlyQuest might have been on pace to break their losing streak, but CLG responded with a teamfight victory 19 minutes into the game, capped off with a double kill by mid laner Palafox, who chased FlyQuest away from the Baron pit. The teamfight gave CLG an opening to take the neutral objective immediately as it spawned at the 20-minute mark. 

From that point forward, CLG would not relinquish their gold advantage, despite a late-game surge from FlyQuest. The team found success near the Baron pit 10 minutes later, when they won another teamfight via an Ace, turning their victory into another Baron buff. After several stagnant pushes into FlyQuest’s base and countless one-for-one trades throughout the late game, CLG sent Dhokla and Palafox into the unoccupied FlyQuest base via a rare double-teleport strategy. In total, four Barons and seven dragons were taken throughout the marathon. 

Yesterday, CLG locked up their place in the LCS summer playoffs, and today, they claimed sole possession of third place, moving a half-game over Team Liquid in the standings. Additionally, CLG cannot drop below sixth place in regard to playoff seeding, meaning they are guaranteed to start their run to an LCS title in the postseason’s upper bracket. 

Funnily enough, CLG and FlyQuest will close out their regular season schedules next weekend with matchups against the same three teams—TSM, Immortals, and 100 Thieves. Two of those squads are still fighting for their playoff lives, while 100 Thieves are already guaranteed a berth postseason. Games against two struggling squads in TSM and Immortals could present a chance for today’s competitors in CLG and FlyQuest to end their Summer Splits positively. Both teams will return to the stage on Friday, Aug. 12, as the LCS will play host to a “superweek” of games, featuring three contests for each team in the league.